Oh!Darling

“Yeah,I know George.But he ain’t comin’ back,y’know.He told me last week about this.Told me to give Paul a chance at bass.Whaddya think?”John asked as him and George sat quietly together one morning. The pub was empty,no longer filled with the countless drunks and whores that they were use to seeing.This time it was only John and George,sitting across from each other at a table while the others either slept away the morning or roamed about.

“I donno,John.I mean,it’s your band innit?”George asked cupping the mug of hot tea.He leaned over and took a sip while John watched him,his brow furrowed and an amused look on his face.George sat up straight,licking the left over tea from his lips, “Did I say something?”

“Naw.It’s just you and the others seem to have it in your head that this is me bloody band.When it’s not.It’s our band.A bloody rock’n roll band thats it.It’s not mine,not Paul’s,not anybodies.We’re just here to play some bleedin’ music.”John fumed.George swallowed and apologized,but John wouldn’t allow him to finish, “It’s okay George.I just want your opinion,yeah? Is McCartney good enough for the spot as bass?”

George shrugged his shoulders, “I guess so,John.You think he’s a good player,don’t you? You talk about him alot.”

John smirked and sipped his tea, “Yeah,I do.Doesn’t mean anythin’ though.So don’t be goin’ getting thoughts about Macca and I,son.”

“No thoughts at all.”George asked watching John light up a ciggie and the smoke slip through his nostrils,”Eh,John?”

“Yeah,George?”

“Where have you and Paul been runnin’ off to lately? Leaving us behind to put the instruments away?”George asked pulling out his own cigarette.The stick dangled between his lips as he sniped a match off the table.

“Why so curious?”John eyed him suspiciously then turned his attention to a sleepless Paul walking down the stairs in a pair of trousers and a shirt.George followed John’s gaze as he immediately became silent.

“Oh.Hey Paul.”George said waving in Paul’s direction.Paul smiled tiredly and walked over towards the stage where their instruments were still set up from the previous nights gig.John cleared his throat and took another sip of his tea, “I wonder what Paul’s up too.”

“Ah,don’t worry George.Probably checkin’ on his instrument.”John mumbled taking a drag of his cigarette.His attention was on George the whole time,but he made sure to pay close attention to Paul who was climbing onto the stage across the room.He hadn’t noticed that he had held his breath and sunk lower in his chair ever since Paul had come down from the room.Just the way he looked made John’s stomach twist with excitement.

Paul moved the others instruments to the other side of the stage while on a search for Stu’s bass.Picking up the neck of the instrument,he realized that it had broken into two during the night; possibly from a bar fight or many other possibilities.

He cursed,”Shite!”

“Shite!”He cursed again putting the bass on the stage.Paul raged and jumped off the stage,running his fingers over the neck of the bass and holding the face in the other hand.He tried to put it back together,but it just didn’t work.He groaned loudly and threw the face of the bass on the stage,landing several inches from the drums.

“Fuckin’ ‘ell,man!”Paul spat and stomped away from the stage.John dabbed his cigarette out and looked to Paul with concern as he made his way over to the table he and George were sharing.

“What are you on about,Paul?”John asked.

Paul fumed, “The bass,John.The bass is fuckin’ broken! What the bloody ‘ell am I gonna play now?”

“Calm down,Paul,”George replied.

“Sod off,George.It’s easy for you to say,you have a bleedin’ guitar to play.”

“So do you.”John intervened and looked up to Paul.His nostrils flared and eyes narrowed down at John.His hands balled into fists at his side and all he could do was shake his head.John stood up in front of Paul and placed his hand on Paul’s shoulder, “There's nothin’ you can do about it.Maybe we can get it fixed or I reckon you get a new one,son.Just relax..”

“I can’t relax,John.”Paul snapped and pulled away from him, “What am I gonna play now? Fuckin’ guitar? We need a fuckin’ bass player!”

“Shut yer gob,Paul! We’ll figure somethin’ out alright?” John roared causing Paul’s mouth to close suddenly.He glared at John and walked away from both George and John over to the bar.John watched him,his eyes turning to slits as he sat back in the chair lighting another cigarette.George watched on curiously,wondering about the sudden outburst John had on Paul.

“You two..”George mumbled.John knitted his brows together and stared at George curiously.He took a drag of his cigarette causing smoke to cloud the air in front of his face.

“What?”

“Nothin’.You two fight like a bleedin’ couple,s’all.It’s quite entertaining.”George chuckled.John shook his head and licked his lips.

“What can I gettcha?”The bartender asked in a thick German accent.It took Paul a moment to understand the man,when it suddenly clicked in and he was spilling a reasonable amount of quid on the bar table.

“Water,please.”

The large bartender chuckled and placed the mug that he had been cleaning on the table.He cocked his brow at Paul and leaned closely to him,causing Paul to tense and pull away, “We don’t sell water here,boy.What do you want?”

Paul cleared his throat nervously and fiddled with the collar of his shirt,”Ugh.Well-I guess.I could-Y’know what,nevermind.”

He collected his quid and shoved it in his pocket.Paul hopped off the stool quickly and made for the door of the pub,coming to a stop at the end of the long bar table.A couple of envelopes caught his eye and he curiously picked them up and flipping through them.A smile came to his lips when he read over one piece of post sent for him.

“To Paul McCartney,Top Ten Club,Hamburg Germany.”Paul smiled fiddling with the post in his hands.His eyes scanned to the corner and read over the fine print,causing his smile to grow even broader, “Amanda Metcalf,London England....doesn’t say where---“

Paul smirked and itched to open it.He quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket upon hearing John’s voice calling his name.He turned on his heel and looked to John standing at the entrance to the pub.

“Yeah,John?”Paul called.John nodded for him to follow both him and George out of the pub as he disappeared through the doors.He sighed and followed suit until he,John and George were on the cement outside of The Top Ten,”Yeah?”

“Come on.We’re gonna go look for some instruments.”John suggested and pulled Paul by his arm sleeve.Paul choked and looked to George while he was dragged down the street.

“Well.Do you know where a music store is around here?”Paul asked.

“Don’t worry about that.Got a couple folks in the pub to gimme some directions.”John said.Paul nodded and caught up to both of them once John let go of his hand.He kept close to John,often bumping elbows and shyly blushing,turning his head away from John’s stare.John smiled and swung his arm lightly so it’d hit Paul’s on purpose.Paul glared at him until he felt John’s fingers secretively lace through his at both of their sides as they walked down the street.Paul smiled sweetly as John turned away and started a conversation with George on the other side of him.

“Steinway-Haus Music Store.Is this the store they were talking about?”George asked staring up at the sign above the three.John chuckled and shoved the younger boy lightly.

“Obviously,George.There are instruments in the window,son.Can’t you see ?”John joked and slipped his hand away from Paul’s.Paul inwardly shifted on the balls of his feet as John glanced back at him,nodding for the two to follow him inside.

The door to the music shop opened with a slight push and a ding of the bell.The three boys were greeted with a rather older looking German man dressed in a cream colored sweater and beige corduroy trousers.

“You boys in a band,I see?”The man asked them slipping his glasses up the bridge of his nose.John nodded and looked around at the guitars hanging on the walls.Paul nodded while he was looking at a set of basses on the rack in front of him.

“We are,sir.We play over at The Top Ten mostly every night.Two sets often.”Paul replied taking off a bass from the rack.His fingers ran along the neck,fiddled with the strings and lightly stroked the face.He smirked and looked around the store to see that the other two had abandoned him to look around.

“Is it good over there? Playing,I mean?”The man asked Paul coming to stand next to him.Paul turned his attention back to the man and nodded.

“It’s not bad but it’s not the best either.But it’s somethin’ to do,gets us some quid and instruments to buy..”Paul chuckled,nervously rubbing the side of his nose with his index.The man nodded and studied Paul closely.

“You’re from England eh?”The man asked.Paul nodded,”Which part?”

“Aye.Liverpool.”Paul answered and looked over the bass once again,”Eh,how much is this bass?”

The man’s eyes lit up and he took the bass from Paul’s hands,”Ah,the Violin Hofner.It’s a very nice bass,no?”

“Why yes it is,sir.I’d like to buy it.”

The man smirked,”Are you sure you can afford it,boy?”

“I’m pretty sure I can if you’d tell me how much it is.”Paul replied stuffing his hands into his pockets.The man furrowed his brow and nodded for Paul to follow him to the counter.Paul smiled widely and looked over his shoulder at John and George both holding guitars in their hands.

---------------------------

Paul sat on the stage playing his Hofner while John fiddled with the new Rickenbacker he had also purchased.Paul looked up from fingering his bass strings and turned his attention to John who sat on the other side of him.

“You like that?”Paul asked nodded to John’s new guitar.John lifted his head and smiled.

“I do.I think it’ll blast their fuckin’ ear drums once I play this.”John chuckled and continued playing.Paul laughed.

“Nah,I think George’s new amp will break the fuckin’ windows.As long as they can ‘ere us,right?”Paul asked.

John nodded and eyed Paul with a smile.His gaze dropped to the Hofner sitting lightly on Paul’s lap and he ran his fingers across the neck and over Paul’s thigh.He drew in a sharp breath and clasped John’s hand,sliding it from his thigh and onto the stage.

“Not ‘ere,John.”Paul gasped looking around the pub.

“Why not?”John whispered and leaned closer to Paul’s neck.Paul shuddered and pulled away from John,standing up and placing his Hofner on the stage.

He swallowed down and averted his gaze to the ground,”Cause,just not ‘ere okay?”

John furrowed his brow and looked around the pub to see several men watching the two from the bar.He shifted uneasily and nodded shyly.

“Alright.”John mumbled nervously and started playing his guitar once again.Paul sighed and chewed on his bottom lip.

“I’ll be right back.Need a smoke.”Paul muttered and walked away quickly,leaving John staring at him from the stage.Paul gasped when he hit the cold air outside the pub,where all the girls and men were walking along the streets and every light in the city was turned on.Paul squinted up and down the street and began walking along the curb,quickly lighting up a cigarette.

His shaky hand lifted the smoke to his lips.His heart was still beat fiercely from John and how close he was to exposing both himself and Paul to everybody.It caused Paul to shudder,thinking about the people in the pub staring at both him and John on the stage.How disgusted they looked at two close men sitting next to each other.It made Paul’s stomach flop,feeling so alienated from the others that he continued down the street not realizing that the band was due on in minutes.

He sucked on the cigarette for a long time before the flaring tip burnt his finger tips,”Shite!”

Paul tossed the butt onto the ground and searched around to see where he was.He sighed and turned on his heel,heading back to The Top Ten.On his way back,he peeled out the letter Mandi had written and slowly began to open it.The paper inside slid out into the palm of his hand as the envelope fluttered to the ground.

“Oops.”Paul mumbled and grabbed it off the ground and stuffed it into his pocket.He stopped for a brief second to open the piece of paper,when out of nowhere,two large hands clasped him by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall in the dark alley.Paul let out a loud cry and and crumbled against the wall.His eyes slowly began to flutter open upon hearing and feeling the cold breath hit the side of his neck.

His eyes widened when he came face to face with a stranger he didn’t know.

Paul groaned loudly,”Let me go!”

“Stupid little prick you are,boy!”The man growled gripping the scruff of Paul’s jacket harder.He forced Paul into the wall harder by a push,causing Paul to let out a low groan,”Little queer boy,wheres your boy toy when you need him..”

“I don’t know what your talking about..”Paul groaned lifting his head to look the man in the eyes.His eyes were dark with a glimpse of anger.Paul gulped and tried to struggle away from the man,shrugging his shoulders,flailing his arms and kicking his legs.The large man roared from the pit of his throat and gripped Paul’s jacket once again,pulling Paul into his chest and pushing him back into the wall roughly.

Paul cried and doubled over,but the man pushed him back up, “HEL—“

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,queer.”The man spat holding a knife up to Paul’s eyes.His eyes widened and glossed over with tears as he saw his own fear in the reflection of the knife.His body began to shake and convulse against the wall,tears shedding down his face.

“Plea-Please,sir.Please don’t do this!”Paul begged feeling the tip of the knife sketch across his bare neck.Paul gulped and stretched his neck and swallowing down hard.His Adams apple bobbed as he stared up at the sky,wishing and hoping for John to hear his cries, “Please sir—“

“SHUT UP,BOY!”The man growled pushing himself into Paul.Paul winced feeling the tip of the knife poke the patch of skin at the base of his throat.His bottom lip began to quiver uncontrollable and his vison began to blur with tears.

“People like you boy,are scum.”The man whispered into Paul’s ear causing another round of tears to leak down his cheeks, “I saw you tonight with your boy toy on the stage.Just think about it,I’m doin’ you a favor..”

Paul remained silent,neck stretched and gasping for air.

The man looked at Paul long and twisted the knife and ran it along the base of Paul’s neck.Paul gulped as the man leaned closer to Paul until his breath hit the edge of his ear, “Turn around.”

Paul swallowed down and did as the man told him,the knife still held firmly to his throat.The man pushed Paul ‘s chest into the wall roughly and ran his other hand down Paul’s side and rested comfortably on his hip.

“One slight movement and I’ll slice your fucking throat,you got it queer boy?”The man whispered harshly.Paul choked back the tears and nodded,hiding his face into the brick wall.His chest began to tighten and stomach started to twist when he felt the mans hands roam across his belt buckle and tugged on his jeans.Paul moan quietly against the wall,wanting to be away from it all and just to crumble into a ball and believe this all wasn’t happening.

He let out a small cry when he felt the mans hand slip through his pants and grasp his cock roughly.

“I knew you’d like it,queer boy.”The man moaned softly stroking Paul’s cock against the wall.Paul’s face itched in pain,shook his head, “Your boy toy is really lucky to have a boy like you.Very attractive man you are.”

The man began to pant heavily against Paul’s neck,causing him to shudder and buckle against the wall.

“What the fuck!”Came a voice from the entrance to the alley way.Paul let out a shrill cry when the man was pulled off of Paul forcefully and thrown to the other side against the brick wall.Paul peeled himself off the wall and turned around to see John hunched over the man with his pocket knife held tightly in his hand.

Paul groaned and slowly slid down the wall.He panted heavily as his eyes slowly began to flutter closed upon seeing John lift his fist in the air and connect several times to the man’s jaw.Paul let out another soft moan before everything around him swirled and turned black.

“You stupid fuckin’ prick!” John roared landing some more punched to the man on the ground.The edge of his knuckles were bloody and soar.He stood up straight and began booting the man several times in the stomach,cursing, “Imma fuckin’ kill you . Worthless piece of fuckin’ scum!”

The man cried and huddled into a small ball against the wall, “Please—“

“Fuck off,you bastard!” John screamed and punched him across the face,causing the man to fall face first into the cement.John took a deep breath and turned the man on to his back.He clicked out his pocket knife and straddled the man’s waist and held the knife to his throat.John began to shake,his anger taking a toll on his body.It was like an adrenaline rush gone bad when his eyes began to go red with anger.

He held the knife tightly to the man’s throat and was tempted to just kill the bastard, “See how you like it you fuckin’ twit.”John growled angrily.

The man shook beneath John and closed his eyes,falling back onto the cement unconscious.John swallowed down hard and slowly removed the knife from the mans throat.He sat back on his knees and turned his attention to Paul who was also unconscious leaning against the wall.

“Paul!”John breathed and rushed over to him.He flicked his knife into his pocket and lifted the boy into his hands.He lightly shook him,wiping the tears from his cheeks and the hair from his eyes, “Paul?”

There was no response.John clenched his jaw in anger and resisted the urge to strangle the man laying on the ground a couple feet from him.

“Pisser.”John mumbled and lifted Paul into his arms.